Roob’s Instant Observations: Rookies shine as Eagles beat Ravens in wild last-second finish

Roob’s Snapshot Observations: Rookies shine as Eagles beat Ravens in crazy last-second finish Originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia

Now, this was some pretty intense drama for a preseason game.

Jake Elliott, who missed a 50-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, got another chance moments after defender Patrick Johnson forced a fumble, and this time Elliott hit a 49-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 16-13 victory over the Ravens in their preseason opener at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The Eagles’ various defensive units limited the Ravens to 164 total yards, 11 first downs and 2-of-12 on third down. In the second half, the Ravens managed just 55 yards.

Very good stuff!

Here is our first edition of 10 snapshot observations of the year:

1. The Eagles are going to rely heavily on their rookie draft class this year, and Friday night’s preseason opener was an auspicious debut for many of them. First-round pick Quinyon Mitchell nearly had an interception, 3^ThirdFirst round pick Jalyx Hunt looked fast and focused in his first NFL game, 4^HeRound 1 pick Will Shipley scored the Eagles’ first touchdown and made some tough runs and blocks, 5^He6th round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was very active and 6^HeFirst round pick Johnny Wilson excelled as both a receiver and blocker and 6^HeFirst-round pick Dylan McMahon showed some nice athleticism by intercepting a 13-yard run by Tyrion Davis-Price (which was called back by a foul). It’s too early to draw any final conclusions about this draft class, but this group looks very promising. And that’s not even counting 2^{North Dakota}-draft round pick Cooper DeJean, who has been out a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury.

2. It only took a few plays to see what the Eagles love about Mitchell. In a starting 3^Third-and-10 from the Eagles 29-yard line, Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson threw over the middle to Malik Cunningham, the former Louisville quarterback turned wide receiver. Mitchell played it perfectly and dove in front of Cunningham to knock the ball down. The rookie 1^streetThe first-rounder probably should have had an interception on the play, but a nice pass deflection on his fifth NFL snap isn’t bad. Mitchell didn’t play much, but that play was impressive. On the topic of corners, Kelee Ringo looked fantastic, notably breaking up what could have been a touchdown pass from Johnson to Temple’s Keith Kirkwood in the second quarter and then making a big tackle on a pretty good pass from Johnson to Rutgers rookie Isaiah Washington in the final seconds of the first half. Ringo is very talented. Isaiah Rodgers was a little loose in coverage by giving up a 19-yard pass to Kirkwood earlier in that drive, but considering it was his first game in 592 days, he’s allowed to.

3A. Kenny Pickett received the first half and one series of the second half, and he didn’t do anything dazzling: his longest pass was just 10 yards to John Ross (on a 3-yarder).^Third-and-17) — but considering he didn’t have AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley or Dallas Goedert and was working behind the backup offensive linemen — and the Eagles were playing as simple as possible — I thought he looked good. He distributed the ball and got rid of the ball a little quicker than he has in practice. This is still a new offense for Pickett, and he’s talked about how difficult it is to unlearn an old system while learning a new one. But after a slow start in training camp, he’s gradually gotten sharper and more comfortable this summer, and on the backup quarterback scale he’s above Marcus Mariota and below Jeff Garcia. The former Steeler finished 14 of 22 for 89 yards with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Will Shipley late in the first quarter. As the backup linemen and deeper receivers came in, he spluttered a bit. But overall he demonstrated control of the offense, found the open man, moved around the pocket fairly well and avoided mistakes by executing a lot of mediocre plays. That’s all you’re looking for right now.

3B. Tanner McKee led a 17-play touchdown drive as soon as he entered the game early in the third quarter, but overall he didn’t look particularly accurate. McKee has been very good in training camp, and considering he was there with some pretty deep backups and was the victim of a couple of turnovers, it’s a little hard to evaluate him. He did make some nice throws: a 3-pointer, a 3-pointer, and a 2-pointer.^ThirdThe five-yard pass to Ainias Smith with 4 1/2 minutes left was spectacular, and not too shabby. But we’d like to see a little more consistency and accuracy, especially on those outs.

4. Shipley is a fun player and will have a role on this team. After Kenny Gainwell got the first series (and ran four times for 23 yards), rookie 4^HeThe first-round pick had eight touches on the Eagles’ second drive and ran for 23 yards before catching that touchdown from Pickett. I don’t think Shipley will get many carries, but the TD showed his ability to get open out of the backfield and the soft hands that make him such a consistent receiver. In Moore’s offense, every receiver, tight end and running back will be eligible.

5. How about that number 54? Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has had a promising training camp and was able to transfer the playmaking ability he’s shown lately at the NovaCare Complex into his first pro game. First, in punt coverage, Trotter made a nice solo stop on Damarion Williams, limiting him to a seven-yard gain. And moments later, on a 3-yard play, Trotter made a nice solo stop on Damarion Williams, limiting him to a seven-yard gain.^Third-and-2, he stopped Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson for no gain — officially a sack — forcing a Ravens punt. It would be easy to say that Trott’s role will be solely on special teams — and he’s going to be very good there — but considering the state of the Eagles’ linebacker position, don’t be surprised if Vic Fangio finds a role for himself. It won’t be a huge role, but the kid is smart, fast, athletic, active and instinctive, and he’s really been showing up lately. Speaking of linebackers, it was nice to see Nakobe Dean run around and make a couple plays. He seems buried behind Zach Baun on the depth chart, but he wasn’t hurt last night.

6. Britain Covey and Johnny Wilson did some good things as they battle for reps at wide receiver behind AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Covey caught four passes for 25 yards in limited playing time and I still believe the kid can be a decent slot receiver in the NFL. He knows how to get open, he catches everything and he’s quick with the ball in his hands. Kellen Moore is going to find a role for himself in the offense. Wilson also had a catch in his first NFL game, but what’s really going to impress coaches is the way he blocked. He’s not just a willing blocker, he’s a very effective blocker. He had a great block on Covey’s second catch and another on Shipley’s touchdown. An interesting player. He went from being a 6^He– A month ago, it was a long shot for a player who already had a roster spot locked in. As for Covey, he also had one of his patented punt returns, where he gets hit like three times, but keeps his balance, doesn’t fall over and somehow gains 26 yards.

7. Overall, I liked what I saw from the backups on defense. In addition to Trotter, players like defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu, 2^{North Dakota}Last year’s undrafted linebacker Ben VanSumeren, rookie edge Jalyx Hunt and safety Tristin McCollum all made plays and looked fast and physical. The Ravens gained 29 yards on their first two plays, then managed just 82 yards on their next 30 plays through the end of the third quarter. At one point, they had six straight drives without a first down, scoring just 26 yards on those six drives. We know Fangio likes to find roles for everyone who dresses down, so some of those guys will be playing this year. Overall, I thought the defense looked fast and physical, mostly against the Ravens’ backups.

8. You know who constantly catches my eye? Darian Kinnard, a free agent who began his career as a guard-tackle.^He-First-round pick by the Chiefs in 2022. The Eagles brought in a ton of backup linemen this offseason (Matt Hennessy, Max Scharping, Nick Gates), but the one who has impressed the most is Kinnard, who I think has made the team. He’s a tough, physical player at 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds, and he already has two Super Bowl rings to his name. He’s been working with the second offensive line at both tackle and right guard. Jeff Stoutland seems to have a high opinion of the kid, and that’s good enough for me.

9. Another thing we saw Friday night was that the Eagles have some pretty good depth at running back. In addition to Gainwell’s 4-for-23 and Shipley’s 7-for-23, Davis-Price ran six times for 34 yards, Lew Nichols was 7-for-21, and undrafted rookie Kendall Milton from Georgia got the ball on the final drive and ran hard, picking up 39 yards on nine carries against a crowded box. So with five different players working out, none of them named Saquon Barkley, the Eagles’ running backs ran for 140 yards. One of those players — Davis-Price, Nichols or Milton — will make the roster, and another will likely be on the practice squad. Good competition. It’s a very solid group.

10. We probably don’t talk about Patrick Johnson enough, but he’s now in his fourth year with the Eagles, and there’s probably a roster spot for him, and in the final seconds of the game, we saw why. He’s primarily a special teams player, and a good one at that, but that play at the end showed what he’s capable of as a defensive player and why he keeps finding ways to make the roster every September. On the Ravens’ first play after Elliott’s 50-yard miss, Johnson sacked Ravens quarterback Emory Jones and recovered the ball at the Ravens 32, setting up Elliott’s game-winning field goal. The Eagles have a lot of question marks at defensive back: Bryce Huff has had just one big year, Josh Sweat finished last year with eight straight games without a sack, Brandon Graham is 36, no one knows what to expect from Nolan Smith, so it’s nice to have a guy like Johnson around who works hard, knows how to play the game and can make a big play when he gets the chance.